Valentine Hugo:

An Inventory of Her Papers in the Carlton Lake Collection at
the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center

Creator :

Hugo, Valentine,
1887-1968

Title:

Valentine Hugo Papers

Dates:

1872-1968

Extent:

21 boxes, 1 oversize
folder (8.82 linear feet)

Abstract:

The papers of this
French Surrealist artist encompass her career as a costume designer, artist, and
radio broadcaster, as well as documenting her relationships
with prominent French artists of the early 20th century, especially her husband
Jean Hugo.

RLIN Record #:

TXRC06-A16

Languages:

Material written in
English and
French.

Note:

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation, which provided funds for the processing and cataloging of this
collection.

The University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom
Humanities Research Center

Born Valentine Marie Augustine Gross in 1887, French artist and author
Valentine Hugo began her life in Capècure, a suburb of Boulogne-sur-mer.
Daughter of musician Auguste Gross and Zèlie Dèmelin, Valentine developed a
love for art, theatre, and music early in life.

While attending school in May of 1909, Valentine Hugo stood in the
wings of the Thèâtre du Châtelet watching Serge Diaghilev's Russian ballet
company Ballets Russes perform for the first time. She would spend portions of
the next six years sketching Ballet Russes dancers Karsavina and Nijinsky. In
1913, the Galerie Montaigne sponsored an exposition of Hugo's
sketches in the foyer of the Champs-Élysèes thèâtre on the tumultuous
opening night of Stravinsky's famed ballet
Le Sacre du
Printemps.

In the same year as her first successful exhibition, Hugo became
friends with a number of prominent French artists including Roger de la
Fresnaye, Lèon-Paul Fargue, Erik Satie, and Jean Cocteau. The following year,
Satie, Cocteau, and Hugo would collaborate on the ballet
Parade; unfortunately,
Hugo would not be part of its eventual production in 1917.

Valentine met her future husband Jean Hugo, grandson of the
influential French author Victor Hugo, in 1917 at the home of Mimi and Cypa
Godebski(a). In 1919 they were married with Cocteau and Satie as their only
witnesses. Neither of Jean's parents consented to the marriage, perhaps
contributing to its eventual demise.

In March of 1926, Valentine attended one of the first Surrealist
expositions where she met Paul Éluard. Their meeting sparked a friendship that
would continue until his death in 1952. In 1927, after working as costume
designer on the set of
La Passion de Jeanne
d'Arc, Valentine returned to Paris a full-fledged Surrealist; Jean
Hugo, however, never embraced the Surrealist movement. In the years following
their hurried nuptials, their tastes diverged leading to separation in 1929 and
finally divorce in 1932. (Despite the end of their marital relations, Valentine
and Jean remained friends until her death in 1968.)

Another Surrealist with whom Valentine had a brief romance was Andrè
Breton. From August of 1930 to October of 1932, Valentine lived, traveled, and
worked with the self-declared leader of the Surrealists. During this time,
Valentine befriended the rest of the Surrealists, namely Gala and Salvador
Dali, Nusch Éluard, Max Ernst, Georges Hugnet, Renè Char, and Tristan
Tzara.

In January of 1940, the Director of Radio-Mondial Jean Fraysse asked
Valentine Hugo to work for his station. Her work at Radio-Mondial was short
lived; Valentine quit in June when the station fell under German control after
the invasion of France. Yet her work was not in vain, working on the radio for
these six months prepared her for future radio broadcasts in the 1950s and
1960s.

In her latter years, she would rarely emerge from her home and
preferred the solitude of her house to the bustling streets of Paris. She alone
survived most of her acquaintances from youth; Erik Satie, Raymond Radiguet,
Paul Éluard, Jean Cocteau, and Andrè Breton all passed before Valentine's
death in 1968.

Included in the Works series are a number of drafts of articles and
notes relating to friends of Valentine Hugo such as Constantin Brancusi, Paul
Éluard, Raymond Radiguet, and Erik Satie. Also present are a number of
manuscripts for radio broadcasts written in the 1950s and 1960s about her early
artistic career and acquaintances.

Correspondence with Valentine's mother Zèlie Gross comprises almost
two thirds of the Letters series and a substantial portion of the Recipient
series. Other notable correspondents in the Recipient series include Marie
Laure, Romola Nijinsky, and Andrè de Badet. Most of the materials in the Other
Papers series are Valentine's own personal papers, such as her passport and
birth certificate, and works or correspondence by other authors. A large part
of materials in this series involves Jean Hugo, Valentine's husband. His
journals (1919-1924) and correspondence with his family compose a large portion
of Series IV. Documents, legal and personal, and works by Valentine's mother,
Zèlie Gross, or father, Auguste Gross form a portion of Series IV. as well.
Handwritten and photostat copies of letters received by Valentine Hugo from
Edgard Varèse and Erik Satie comprise a segment of the Other Papers series.
Some originals of the copied letters to Valentine Hugo from Edgard Varèse are
also located in Series III. Recipient. The originals of the correspondence
between Hugo and Satie can be found in the Carlton Lake Collection of Georges
Hugnet Papers Third-party correspondence.

Other materials relating to Valentine Hugo can be found elsewhere in
the Ransom Center. The Carlton Lake Art collection contains a large amount of
works by Valentine Hugo as well as a few pieces by her husband Jean Hugo.
Additionally, the Georges Hugnet and the Jean Cocteau papers found in the
Carlton Lake Manuscript collection contain substantial correspondence from
Valentine Hugo. Photographic reproductions of artworks studied by Hugo are also
available in Vertical Files.